Flame Verses Fool
by Feebee-Weebee
Summary: SEQUEL TO "SEEING DOUBLE." Okay, it's been a while since Axel left Reno in an "awkward position" and now Reno wants revenge... and a little of his dignity back. What happens when their two paths meet again?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody :)**

**This is the sequel to "Seeing Double" one of my other fics, so it's probably best to go back and read that first, cuz you might not get it otherwise lol.**

**Okay, I hope you enjoy it XD**

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Rude wrinkled his nose as he stepped into the dark apartment. The curtains were drawn, and a stuffy, musty smell emanated from the shabby furniture. Looking down, he raised his eyebrows at the mess of pizza boxes and beer cans that lay scattered on the carpet. He raised his eyebrows and reached down, plucking something from between the mess. Lifting it up so that it hovered level with his face, he frowned.

"Pink satin, with a double D? I didn't realise he was in to _that_ kind of underwear." Tossing it aside, he moved cautiously across the creaky floor. The closer he got towards his destination, the more clothes of a female variety he found, flung carelessly on the ground like the garbage, "I seriously hope I'm not interrupting anything. There's only so much a guy can know about another guy. There are boundaries."

A grunting sound suddenly issued from behind the door in front of him, and he froze, holding his breath. There was a pause, and then a voice, slurred with sleep, muttered,

"Are you a parking ticket? 'Cause you have FINE written all over you."

Rude shuddered,

"Urgh. Is that the best he can come up with?" Not wanting to wait to see what else would come out of that room, he entered the room, "DUDE!"

Reno was sprawled across his bed on his front, completely naked. On either side of him, also asleep, were two women. That explained the clothes strewn around the apartment. Rude shivered again, feeling more than just a little sick,

"There's something wrong with you."

"Huh?" Reno lifted his head and glanced around, before grinning widely, "There's nothing wrong with me. I'm just a healthy, ordinary guy who likes to _experiment_ a little, right ladies?" He added, as the women beside him stirred. They giggled and sat up, reaching down the side of the bed to gather their clothes. They looked vaguely familiar Reno rolled over and lay back with his hands tucked behind his head, a lazy smile on his face as he watched them. As they left, he gave them a little wave, "I'll see you at work, ladies. It's nice to know there are such dedicated workers on the office team. I'll be sure to inform the boss about you."

Rude waited until he heard the front door slam, and then glared at his partner,

"You don't even know their names."

"What are you talking about?" Reno waved his hand dismissively, "Of _course_ I know their names. I'm not that much of a jerk."

"Oh yeah?" Rude raised an eyebrow, "Then what are their names?"

Reno gazed at Rude earnestly, his hands outstretched,

"Really, my friend, must you insist upon this dreadful mistrust? Is my word no longer enough? What more must I do to make you finally believe me?"

"Cut the crap," Rude reached forwards and dragged him out of bed by the ponytail, "We've got work to do. You're already late."

"Rude," Reno pulled away from him, rubbing the back of his head, "Come on, man, are you stupid or something? It's Sunday today. We don't work on a Sunday."

"It was Sunday _yesterday_," Rude told him sternly, noticing an empty bottle of vodka on Reno's bedside table, "Today is Monday. Monday. Some would consider it the first day of the week. The day when everybody wakes up and thinks "aw, it's Monday, I'll lie-in for a little longer.""

"Then let me lie-in," Reno grumbled, crawling back into bed, and, to Rude's relief, yanking on a pair of pyjama bottoms, "My head feels like somebody decided to start a band in there."

"No way," This time, Rude took hold of Reno's foot and pulled him through into the living-area, ignoring the howls of protest, "You _have_ had a lie-in. It's eleven o' clock. Tseng sent me round here to see why you weren't in at seven, like your job description specifies."

Reno made a moaning sound into the dusty carpet,

"Don't wanna go to work anymore!"

"You sound like a child," Rude said stiffly. Reno stared up at him, his lower lip jutting out and trembling,

"They all laugh at me!"

Rude smothered his grin,

"Still? I thought they'd forgotten."

"Yeah..." In a sulk, Reno hauled himself up into a chair and crossed his arms, "Somebody got hold of the pictures Elena took, and they got posted around the headquarters."

Rude frown uncertainly,

"Are you sure? I never saw any of them."

"Tseng had Administration go around and take them down," Reno explained miserably, "But not before a whole load of executives, office staff, cleaners, SOLDIERs and scientists saw them and told all their buddies, who told all _their _buddies, which means that I'm the laughing stock of Midgar!" He threw up his hands in exasperation and then buried his head in his knees, "I can't even show my face _outside_, unless I'm completely pissed."

"Well, it was kinda your fault," Rude said unsympathetically, "I mean, if you were stupid enough to let him do that to you-"

Reno sat bolt upright, his eyes burning,

"No! Don't even mention him!" He clutched his head, a shudder cringing through his body, "He's always in my head, laughing at me!" He pulled a face, and put on an arrogant, laid-back drawl which wasn't far off from his own voice, ""Entry free of charge. Got it memorized?""

Rude snorted, covering his mouth in a vain attempt to hide it from his friend. Reno shot him a dangerous look,

"Laugh it up, douche. Just thinking about it makes me sober."

"Come on," Rude stepped forwards and pulled him to his feet, "You know that's a lie. Nothing keeps you sober. You're body is so used to booze you could drink water and it could find alcohol in it. Just get dressed, already. Don't get fired. _Again_." He added meaningfully.

"Hey, hey," Reno held his hands up in defeat, "_That_, I believe, was a mistake made by Tseng, not me. But whatever," He peeled an almost-white shirt from the back of the chair and put it on. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, grinning, "Sandra and Kyoko!"

"What?" Rude stared at him blankly.

"Those two women!" Reno glared at him triumphantly, "Their names were Sandra and Kyoko!"

Rude shook his head,

"I can always tell when you're lying."

"Oh yeah, how."

"Your lips move."


	2. Chapter 2

"You know, you don't have to go to _those_ sorts of extremes," Rude said later as he and Reno entered the wide lobby of the Shinra Electric Power Company, "If you dress like that, people are gonna _know_ you're a fool and laugh at you anyway. Besides, if you let them see how freaked out you are about it, they're just gonna take the piss anyway."

Reno glared at him from behind the ultra-large black sunglasses he wore on top of his usual ones, and pulled the collar of the enormous fur coat he'd donned to disguise himself further up around his face,

"Since when did you become a shrink? Go ahead of me so nobody knows we're together. It's a dead giveaway if you're with me."

Rude ignored him,

"Seriously. Just relax and act like it's a huge joke."

Cautiously, Reno removed the coat. Keeping his head low, he followed Rude across the lobby towards the lifts that would take them up to their floor. They were almost there; Rude's finger was stretched out to call it down, and then-

"Hey Reno! I heard you're batting for the other team now!"

Reno froze, and an odd strangled sound came out of his mouth. Rude bowed his head, sighing. There was a furious shout from behind.

"Hey!"

They turned. The two women from earlier, whom Reno had identified as Sandra and Kyoko, were charging towards him, their faces like thunder. Reno made another sound, and then gave them one of his award winning smiles, lifting his sunglasses and winking at them,

"Good morning, ladies. What can I do you for?"

They both slapped him hard. He stumbled backwards, unsure of which cheek to clutch first,

"Wh... what was that for?"

One of them held up a picture. Reno groaned as he recognised the image and let his head sink into his hands,

"Why? Why is this coming back to haunt me?"

"And for your information," The other snapped, her hands on her hips, "Our names are Kayleigh and Sachiko, not Sandra and Kyoko. Sandra and Kyoko were the police officers who had to carry you home last night."

"Right," Reno said meekly, as they stalked off, "Cool."

Rude shook his head and stepped into the lift without a word. Reno followed him, eyeing him uncomfortably. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he spoke up,

"Uh, listen. I'd appreciate it is you didn't mention that back there to anyone. I have what's left of a reputation to uphold, and that won't help it much. You get me?"

"Just concentrate on your excuse to Tseng for being so late," Rude grunted, disgusted. Reno nodded, and stared hard at his feet,

"Yeah."

The lift pinged to say that they had reached their floor, and the doors slid open to reveal the calm quiet of the Turk's office. That was until-

"RENO!"

A blonde hurricane seemed to explode out of nowhere. It slapped Reno hard on his already-tender cheek. He rubbed it hard, whining with pain.

"Elena? What was that for?"

Elena folded her arms and shot him a look so terrifying it could have crippled a mutant Sephiroth. Reno took a step backwards, shielding himself behind Rude, who shook him off impatiently and moved towards his desk.

"You know Reno?" Elena snapped, "It was _really_ good of Tseng to give you your job back and everything, so I don't see why you _insist_ upon throwing it back in his face less than three months later."

"Gawd," Reno stalked round her and flopped down at his own desk, resting his feet on it, "It was one time, okay? This is the first time I haven't been late for three months. Cut me some slack, will ya? Jeez, I thought women such as yourself were meant to be patient and understanding?"

Elena made a disgusted sound and flounced back to her desk, where she proceeded to type out the report she had been compiling with extra gusto,

"Where you are concerned, Reno, I have _very_ little patience."

"As do I," Boomed a familiar voice, "For people who do not follow my rules." Tseng entered the room, immaculate in his flawless suit, his black hair completely in place, "Explain to me, if you will, why I had to interrupt Rude from his work so he could investigate as to why you weren't present this morning?"

"You sound like a computer, you know that?" Reno grunted sourly. Tseng was not perturbed,

"That is not an acceptable answer."

"Fine," Reno spun round in his chair, "I was late because last night I drank too much, enjoyed a threesome with two women who now think I'm a jerk, and overslept. There. Happy now?"

"Not really." Tseng turned away from him, eyebrows slightly raised, "And you can expect to find those hours docked from your pay check. I don't know if you realised, but this is a world where we _work_ for our money."

"I don't know if you realised," Reno grumbled, under his breath, "But this is a world where I _really_ don't care."

If Tseng had heard, he acted like the better man and pretended he didn't. Turning on his heel, he made to stride back into his own private office, but as he did so, his phone began to trill loudly. Retrieving it from his pocket, he answered it.

"Hello?... Ah, good morning Sir."

Everybody looked up, interested. Reno shot a questioning look at Rude, who mouthed "Rufus Shinra" back at him. Tseng was nodding, his face more serious than ever,

"That's a remarkable achievement, Sir... Of course I can see your point. After all, this _is_ an investigational department... certainly... I'll send somebody down instantly... yes... yes... I know just the person, Sir. Leave it to me... Goodbye Sir."

"The big man?" Reno asked. Tseng nodded,

"If the person you are referring to is Rufus Shinra, then yes, it was. The science department has made a rather fascinating breakthrough in terms of transportation. They need somebody to test it. I told the President that we had the perfect person to do it."

"Don't ask who," Elena shot at Reno, her eyebrows knitted together, "Because we already know it's going to be you."

"Actually," Tseng cut in, "I was planning on testing it myself. I don't feel I've been pushing myself as hard as I would have liked recently, so this will be a good way to change that."

"But sir!" Elena's eyes were wide, "You're in charge of this whole department. What if something goes wrong?"

Tseng took a deep breath, and for the first time looked slightly unsettled,

"Well, as much as it pains me to admit it, there _is_ an official second-in-command here who is meant to take over when I am unable to."

"Rude?" Elena turned to the bald Turk, who shook his head,

"Not me."

Elena paled, and her hands began to shake,

"Are. You. Serious?"

Reno chuckled and tucked his arms behind his head, shrugging as if he didn't care, although his triumphant smirk suggested otherwise,

"I'm not one to reveal my true position in the Turks, but in a situation like this I will certainly accept the responsibilities and come out of hiding. Besides," He added, "The look on your face is like taking a cool glass of vodka and coke and spilling down a woman's top. Priceless with a view that's unbeatable."

"Sir," Elena turned to Tseng, her eyes pleading with him, "Please don't leave this department under that jerk, even for ten minutes. The whole company will crash!"

"Just relax, Elena," Tseng said soothingly, "I'm only going to test a new transportation device. I'll be gone for half an hour at most. If you're still alive by the time I return I'll take you out for dinner. How does that sound?"

Elena flushed,

"I'm sure I'll be able to manage Sir, if that's the case."

"Besides," Reno said reasonably, "What could possibly go wrong?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi again!**

**Sorry it's been so long putting this chapter up, I'm totally clogged up with my coursework at the moment (three in on the same day, how unfair is that?)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy :]**

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**

""What could possibly go wrong?"" Elena quoted Reno's words, her voice getting higher and higher with each syllable, ""What could possibly go wrong?" WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO RIGHT???"

"Whoa!" Reno took a large step backwards as his colleague slammed her hands down on his desk and screamed her last sentence out like a rhino giving birth, "What're you shouting at me for?"

"Yeah," Rude carefully and subtly shielded himself behind his computer screen, "I hardly believe it myself, but this time it really wasn't Reno's fault."

Elena shot him a look that could have burnt through metal, and snarled through gritted teeth,

"It's _always_ Reno's fault in this office."

"But-"

"It's _always_ Reno's fault."

"That's not-"

"It's ALWAYS Reno's fault!"

"Okay, okay!" Reno flung himself sulkily into his chair and pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes, muttering darkly, "Geez, talk about PMS."

Elena began pacing furiously up and down the room, kicking the wastepaper basket savagely out of her path. Reno gulped, and Rude uncomfortably toyed with the collar of his crisp white shirt.

"I _knew_ this would happen!" Elena slammed her fist into her palm, "I knew it! How could something not have happened?"

"You should have expected it," Reno pointed out helpfully, and then ducked as a stapler was thrown hard at his head. Glancing up to make sure it was safe, he added pointedly, "Especially if you _knew_ it was going to be _my_ fault."

Retreating to the corner of the room as Elena surged towards Reno with a bloodthirsty howl, Rude looked down at the memo that had just been sent up from one of the members of the Transportation Research team.

**TURKS-**

**COMPLICATIONS HAVE ARISEN WITH THE NEW TRANSPORTATION DEVICE. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT TSENG IS UNABLE TO RETURN FROM HIS DESTINATION, WHICH AT THIS MOMENT, REMAINS UNKNOWN.**

_Whoa,_ he thought to himself, _kind of cold, considering they've just lost us one of their team._ Ignoring Reno's screams of pain as Elena forced him to the floor and bent his leg sideways, he stepped smartly around them and opened the door to Tseng's office, closing it behind him. Everything went strangely quiet. He guessed that Tseng had had the room soundproofed. No hard to see why, working with Elena and Reno in the next room. The office was dim lit, and completely empty, save for a large desk at the opposite end. Approaching it, Rude could not help but note sourly, as Reno had done vocally many times, that the office was quite a bit bigger than theirs.

Approaching the desk, a little nervous despite himself, he picked up the receiver on the sleek black phone, and studied the speed dial options. Right at the top was one marked "RS." Hoping this was the right one, he pressed it. It rang a couple of times, and then a woman's voice, high and bubbly, with the definite slur of bubblegum behind it, said,

"This is Rufus Shinra's office. How may I help you?"

"Is it possible for me to talk with him?" Rude asked, clearing his throat, "We have a bit of an emergency down here."

"I'll put you straight through," The secretary sang, and there was a click, followed by a moment's silence.

"Rufus Shinra speaking."

"Mr President," Rude tried to copy Tseng's smooth way of speaking, "We have a problem with our department. We need your instructions, and my co-workers are-" He paused, trying to think of an appropriate excuse, "A bit caught up at the moment."

"I see," The President said dryly, "However, in order for me to assist you, I _will_ need to know which department you are talking about."

"Of course," Rude groaned inwardly, "It's the Turks." _Surely,_ he thought bitterly, _after the amount of times I've body guarded him, he would recognise my voice?_

"The Turks?" The President sounded slightly more interested, "What has happened?"

"Tseng was sent to try out the new transportation device the research department have been developing," Rude explained, feeling that it probably wasn't the best idea to mention that it had been the President himself who had ordered Tseng to do so, "And it seems that now he is unable to return from where they sent him."

"Ah," The President said, "It would seem that this is quite an emergency. Why don't you send Reno down to check it out? After all, he is the only one of you who has had _experience_ in this matter before, I believe."

"I understand," Rude nodded, "I'll see to it instantly, sir."

"Good," The phone went dead.

Placing the receiver down, Rude retreated to the door of the office, and poked his head out. Reno was nursing a nosebleed, and Elena was red in the face and breathing hard, her hair in a complete mess and a button torn off her shirt. It seemed that a momentary peace treaty had been called. They glanced up at him.

"What were you doing in there?" Reno asked suspiciously. It was obvious that neither he nor Elena had noticed Rude's absence.

"I was on the phone to Rufus Shinra," Rude told him, "And he's asked for Reno to go down to the department where Tseng went missing to investigate."

"Why have I got to do it?" Reno asked grumpily, crossing his arms like a sulking child.

"Two reasons," Rude lied, "One, you've had _experience _in vanishing into possible other worlds, and two," Here he grinned at his friend, "You're in charge until Tseng gets back. All that paperwork must really start to get to you, after a while."

Reno paled, and clutched at Rude's arm,

"I don't wanna do paperwork!"

"Of course not," Elena was grinning too, knowing what Rude was up to, "That's why we need Tseng back, right? So he can do it?"

"For once, we agree," Reno nodded frantically, "I'll get down there right now. Tseng will be back by the end of the day!"

Rufus Shinra calmly placed the receiver back down, and then slowly spun in his chair, staring arrogantly up at the person who had been standing behind him, pressing a gun into the side of his head. The person was hooded, their face completely dark, so he couldn't see who it was.

"Obviously, you're not from around here," He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Because on this planet, we hold our guns by the handle, not the barrel."

"Oh..." His would-be captor dithered slightly, and turned the gun around, "You mean like this?"

"Well done." Shinra turned in his chair and began tapping away at the massive control panel at his desk, waving his hand at the figure, "Now, if you don't mind, I am rather busy this morning, so if you could attempt to kidnap me another day, I'd be much obliged."

"All I needed was for you to answer that phone call, and give those instructions," The hooded person said, sounding a little put-out, "It's not you I'm after. Oh and the whole thing with the gun?" He moved towards the door, ready to leave, and lifted his arm, demonstrating how to hold the weapon correctly, "Got it memorized."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, sorry this took so long again :)**

**I've been on holiday, so sorry again for the delay**

**I've actually already written the last two chapters, so hopefully the rest won't take too long to come out.**

**Okay, hope you like the chapter XD**

**-.-.-**

Reno couldn't help but be mildly creeped out as he stepped into the deserted Transportation Research area. The entire floor had been evacuated because of what had happened, and there were SOLDIER guarding the entrances and exits to make sure nobody could interfere.

"Why did I have to be the one to investigate?" He muttered sourly to himself, "And on my own too? That's cold... Stupid Rufus Shinra..."

He had been told that the area of Tseng's disappearance was the main research pool, just on the other side of the main offices. There was a strange glowing light, oddly familiar, coming out from under the door. Reno reached for his mag-rod, changed his mind, and reached for his gun, edging silently towards the door, gulping.

"Was it really necessary to turn off all the lights?" He tripped over an upturned stool and cussed loudly, then cussed again for ruining his silence. Putting out a hand, he gently pushed the door open, "You've gotta be kidding me."

Unmistakably hovering in front of him was a portal, the same kind as he had seen before. It was between what appeared to be two pylons, from which burst occasional bolts of electricity. There were two cables coming out of both pylons, which were attached to two enormous balls of Materia.

"Whoa..." Reno stared at the whole thing, eyes wide, "Gotta hand it to the research team, I guess..." He moved closer to the contraption, studying it. The portal looked pretty similar to the ones he had seen before, except it was obvious that this one needed to have constant energy pumped into it to keep it working, "If that's the case... how long is this thing gonna last?" He glanced at a small control panel on the closest pylon. There was nothing to suggest there was a countdown. In fact, the buttons made no sense to Reno at all. He reached out to touch one but then quickly changed his mind, "I'm not that stupid."

As he backed away he knocked into one of the desks, accidently pushing a pile of papers off it onto the floor. He shot them a passing glance, ready to ignore them, but then the top paper caught his eye. Reaching down, he picking it up and began to read.

_Portal Transportation Progress Log: Day 30,382-_

"Whoa!" Reno's eyes widened, impressed, "They've been working on this for over ten years!"

_We have finally managed to keep the device suspended and are convinced now that it is stabilised. The researchers have been calling it a "portal" but I am not yet sure this is correct. A "portal" can take something anywhere and can be called up at any time. What we have built leads only to one place, and cannot lose power, or else it will disappear. The Materia we are supplying it will last a week from the first time somebody goes through it, and then the power will drain._

"Tseng went through today," Reno said to himself, struggling to make something that sounded logical out of all this, "Which means to get him back I have seven days. That's not so bad." He looked down at the log again. There was more.

_Portal Transportation Progress Log: Day 30,330_

_Today we have been told that somebody from the Turk's department is coming down to test the device. This was a request made by phone from the President himself. An odd request, since we only ever test our inventions ourselves, but it is an honour that Rufus Shinra has taken such an interest in our work._

"Shinra _requested_ that one of the Turks test the portal?" Reno's mouth dropped open, "So nobody asked for a test subject? What the hell? What's going on?" He clenched his fists so that the paper screwed up in his hands, "There's no way the President would give two shits about what was happening in the Transportation Research department. All he cares about is money and Materia and killing people." Throwing the paper over his shoulder, he strode towards the portal, "Right. I'm gonna go get the boss back." Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, took a run up, and-

And then something grabbed the end of his newly growing ponytail so that he fell backwards, painfully crashing into one of the desks and rolling over onto the floor, coughing and winded. His vision began to spin, which was why he didn't at first recognise the person who bent over him, who said,

"Still letting people take you from behind, I see."


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so I'm more than a little sorry for the delay. Who would have thought that revision would take up all of my time? Anyway, my exams, coursework and school in general are done, so I have the time to begin this whole thing again, so YAY!**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Reno made a moaning sound as his vision began to clear. All he could see above him was a spinning red and black blur. He blinked, waving his arms out in front of him,

"W...whaddaya mean... "Take me from..."" He trailed off as realisation dawned. There was a horribly familiar chuckle,

"You mean you don't remember? 'Cause I do. You could say that I-"

""Got it memorized."" Reno finished for him, "You son of a-" He leapt to his feet and grabbed Axel round the waist, sending both of them crashing to the floor, breaking one of the chairs. Reno circled his fingers around the nobody's throat, making noises that were far from human. Axel struggled underneath him for a moment and then sent his palm crashing upwards into Reno's nose. Reno howled and rolled over, attempting to stem the blood flow. Axel dived across him, snatching hold of his ponytail and pulling it sharply backwards. Reno twisted out of his grasp, snapping, "Stop trying to rape me!"

"WHAT?" Axel leapt backwards away from him in an instant, "I wasn't trying to-"

"Yeah, yeah," Reno pinched the top of his nose sulkily, dabbing at the blood, "You've been pining over my body since you pulled that prank before, I bet. You just couldn't bear to be apart from me, could you?" He grinned, seeing how his opponent's face had gone as red as his hair through anger, "I didn't know violence turned you on."

Axel picked up the closest thing to him and threw it hard at Reno. Fortunately for the Turk, it was a pencil sharpener. Axel snarled at him through gritted teeth.

"Stop. Making. It. Weird."

""Stop making it weird"?" Reno repeated his voice a little too high from the shock of everything that was going on, "Things couldn't possibly be any weirder right now! What are ya doing here? Where is Tseng? How did all this happen?" He gestured wildly to the room. Axel held up his hands, silencing him,

"It pains me to admit it, but I need your help."

"You need _my_ help?" Reno's mouth dropped open, "_You_ need _my_ help? Why should I help you? Every time I help you I end up fired, wanted dead, or naked. And not in a good way!"

Axel crossed his arms calmly,

"You're going to help me because if you do, I'm going to help you get your boss back."

"What?" Reno gaped at him, "You mean you know where he is? How?"

Axel looked a little uncomfortable,

"Er... no time to get bogged down with the details. We have to hurry. If you're gonna help me, it's gotta be now. We'll be going through there." He pointed at the portal. Reno shook his head firmly, stepping smartly backwards away from it,

"Oh no. No way. I'm not going through one of those with you. Nuh uh. Not happening."

Axel shot him a look,

"You were about to go through it before I grabbed you."

"True," Reno pointed a finger at him, "But you know how to fiddle these things, right? You can make them go to different places. For all I know, you've made this thing go to fucking space."

"I can't use my powers in this world," Axel reminded him.

There was a long silence. Reno dithered slightly, unsure of what to say.

"Yeah... well...you work for a guy who can scramble his name so that it says "Man-sex!""

Axel bowed his head,

"Will you let up on your obsession with gays, already? Are you coming or not. Every second you waste is bad, believe me."

Reno frowned, swallowing slightly,

"Um... why?"

"Listen," Axel stepped forwards and put a hand on his shoulder, "There's something I've always wanted to ask you. It's not gay."

"Okay..." Reno said slowly, "What?"

"You know those tattoos on your cheeks?"

"Uh huh."

"HA! Axel leapt away from him, clapping his hands, "I knew it! You told me they were scars! You liar!"

Attempting to salvage the situation, Reno scowled at him,

"What has that got to do with anything that is happening right now?"

Axel stopped laughing,

"Well, it was mainly to distract you?"

"To distract me?" Reno repeated, "From what?" He glanced down at Axel's hands. They were on fire. His eyes widened, "What the-"

"Too late!" Axel pushed on arm forwards and a ball of flame shot out from his palm. It struck Reno squarely in the chest, forcing him backwards across the floor. He stumbled, rocking dangerously, and tripped straight through the swirling mist of the portal, screaming;

"You fucking son of a-" His yells and Axel's laughter were drowned out by the roaring wind. It only lasted a second, but it was enough to make his ears burn. Seconds later he landed hard and painfully on something that was... well... hard and painful. He groaned, rolling over, tasting blood in his mouth. Axel appeared beside him, standing upright, smirking down at him. Reno shot him the dirtiest look he could muster, and stared down miserably at the scorched shirt, which now had a massive hole in it.

"You could have just pushed me..."

"It would have been more satisfying," Axel agreed, and, to Reno's surprise, reached down and helped him up. Reno frowned at him,

"I thought you said you couldn't use your powers in my world."

"You didn't memorize the details," Axel wagged a finger at him, "I said that I couldn't use my powers if our worlds were not connected." He pointed at the portal which was now suspended in midair and without the cables and mako, "But now they are."

"Right," Reno bent down and dusted himself off, "And just what exactly is this world? It doesn't look like the one from before."

It seemed to be night in this world. They were standing in a large square which was surrounded by buildings. It was raining slightly and there was a distant rumble of thunder. In one corner of the square was a lorry, which seemed to have crashed into a wall and turned over, completely blocking one of the exits. Directly in front of them, rising up higher than any of the other buildings, was a massive, beautifully lit skyscraper; taller even than the Shinra building. Reno gasped.

"Whoa!"

"That's Memory's Skyscraper," Axel explained, "It watches over the people who live in the darkness of this world." He pointed upwards. Reno followed to where he was pointed. Then-

"WHOA!"

Above the skyscraper, floating in midair, was an enormous castle, huger than anything Reno had seen before in his life. It was pure white, and let off an odd glow, almost ghostly. It was completely breathtaking but, despite the whiteness against the black, it didn't look out of place here. The castle, like everything else here, seemed dead.

"Where _are_ we?" He murmured, unable to take it all in. Axel spread his arms wide,

"Welcome to the Land That Never Was."


	6. Chapter 6

**Right guys ^^**

**As you all know I have been a bit shit and haven't published in a VERY long time.**

**Don't worry, I have my reasons :)**

**Anyway, as a result I am taking this story off the site...**

**HOWEVER.....**

**I will be resubmitting it under THE SAME NAME and WITH MORE CHAPTERS all in one go**

**Sorry about this :(**


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